An Easy Way to Clean Vertical Blinds

If you are using a cleaning company to have your home or office cleaned regularly, you are probably thinking that since this is something that the cleaning company will be doing anyway, there’s no need for you to bother about this.  Please don’t jump to conclusions and read on.

Blinds reflect the condition of your home or office both internally and externally. A person looking at your windows from outside and seeing dirty blinds will jump to conclusions about the state of the interior and a person seeing dirty blinds inside will focus on that and not on the rest of the room, no matter how clean it may be.

The problem with blinds, especially in a place like London, is that open windows and pollution often wreak havoc upon them. It may at times be necessary to clean the blinds before the visit of a London cleaning company is due.

Here are a few tips on how to go about it with the minimum of effort. These apply to all blind materials – wood, vinyl, fabric or aluminum.

Start by vacuuming the blinds using a brush attachment. If need be wash the brush before use so it does not leave more dirt than it removes. Always move the vacuum cleaner nozzle in an up to down movement because doing it upwards could cause the blinds to un- hooked at the top.

Once the vacuuming is done, use a clean lamb’s wool or feather duster on the slats, once again using an up to down movement. If after this you see some stains or spots on the slats, use an all purpose cleaner to remove them. Never spray or apply the cleaner directly to the slats. Dampen a cloth and rub the stain the remove it. If the stain does not come off, leave it alone and either wait for the cleaning company’s next visit or get a professional blind cleaning service to do the job for you.

Please note that blinds should never be soaked as this will lead to the loss of the fire retardant and grime repellant chemicals they are coated with. Fabric blinds may also shrink. Also never wipe blinds with hot water as this may cause fabric colours to run.

For fabric and vinyl blinds use a dry sponge to scrub away stubborn dust and grime. Be careful not to rub too hard or you could damage the surface finish of the slats.